UPDATED 6pm | Malaysia will send an official representative to Singapore to discuss on the High-Speed Rail (HSR) project by the end of the month, said Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali.

"I'm in communication with our Singaporean counterpart. Last week, I was briefed by our attorney-general and presented the case (to the cabinet) on Wednesday.

Azmin said an announcement on the matter would be made this week.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had previously said that Malaysia intends to scrap the HSR project due to its high costs.

Singapore, however, has said that Malaysia is yet to respond to its diplomatic note sent on June 1 regarding the project and that it continues to incur costs until Malaysia takes a position on the matter.

In his speech, Azmin said total trade between Malaysia and the European Union (EU) increased 25.1 percent year-on-year (YoY) in April to RM16.15 billion, accounting for 10.4 per cent of Malaysia's total trade.

Exports grew 19.5 percent YoY to RM8.93 billion, while imports increased 32.8 percent to RM7.22 billion, he said.

On foreign direct investment, he said the EU recorded a total FDI of RM107 billion as at the first quarter of 2018, while Malaysia had invested RM59 billion in Europe, mainly in services worth RM35.3 billion.

Azmin said Malaysia would intensify efforts to attract more quality FDIs going forward, particularly in the green field investments that would contribute to real value creation and spur productivity, innovation and complement the country’s business ecosystem.

"We want to see the establishment of production plants and factories. We also want to see the transfer of technology, generation of employment opportunities and local small and medium enterprises moving up the value chain," he added.

--Bernama